The Inner Game of Tennis: The classic guide to the mental side of peak performance

I learned how effective the remembering of certain sounds can be as a cue for the built-in computer within our brains.

I can’t describe how good I felt at that moment, or why. Tears even began to come to my eyes. I had learned and he had learned, but there was no one there to take credit. There was only the glimmer of a realization that we were both participating in a wonderful process of natural learning.

When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as “rootless and stemless.” We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when t

(I am reminded of the lines from “The Hollow Men,” by T. S. Eliot: “Between the idea / And the reality / Between the motion / And the act / Falls the Shadow.

Self 2 has very good instincts about when it is time to work on any particular element of your stroke.

Always looking for approval and wanting to avoid disapproval, this subtle ego-mind sees a compliment as a potential criticism. It reasons, “If the pro is pleased with one kind of performance, he will be displeased by the opposite. If he likes me for doing well, he will dislike me for not doing well.” The standard of good and bad had been establishe

The surfer waits for the big wave because he values the challenge it presents. He values the obstacles the wave puts between him and his goal of riding the wave to the beach. Why? Because it is those very obstacles, the size and churning power of the wave, which draw from the surfer his greatest effort. It is only against the big waves that he is r

using awareness to “discover the technique” is that it doesn’t tend to evoke the overcontrolling and judgmental aspects of Self 1, which wants to rely on formula rather than feel.

SUBGAME A: Perfect-o THESIS: How good can I get? In Perfect-o, “good” is measured against a standard of performance. In golf, it is measured against par; in tennis, against self-conceived expectations or those of parents, coach or friends. AIM: Perfection; to reach the highest standard possible. MOTIVE: The desire to prove oneself. OBSTACLES: Exter